Aa code of 1908 - british museum cataloguing rules, Other Management

AA Code of 1908:

Cataloging rules: author and title entries / compiled by Committees of the Library Association and the American Library Association. - English edition. - London: Library Association, 1908. - American edition: Chicago: American Library Association, 1908. At the turn of the, present century there were divergent codes in application among the libraries both in America and in England. American libraries were using various codes such as Cutter's rules, ALA rules, Dewey's rules, etc. In addition, the introduction of printed card distribution by the Library of Congress made many libraries to adhere to the LC's practice. In England, the BM rules, LA rules, Bodleian rules, etc. were in use among the libraries. There was a renewed debate over the need for a sound philosophy of cataloguing to find better solutions to the problems of bibliographic organisation and to establish cooperative and centralised systems for ensuring greater uniformity and economy in cataloguing practices.

The aim was to meet the "requirements of larger libraries of a scholarly character". This set the precedent so that the subsequent codes were similarly aimed at and were largely drawn up primarily oriented to the needs of large research libraries. On account of practical considerations; the code had to work out compromise between the differing practices of the LC and other American research libraries. Next, because the two collaborating American and British groups could not reach full agreement on all details, alternative rules were made to accommodate the British and American preferences that differed. As a result the code was published in two somewhat differing texts (American and English texts).

The code created a labyrinth of corporate entry and made the dubious distinction as between society and association on one hand and institution (restricted to permanent establishments) on the other hand. However, it laid emphasis on and wide application of authorship principle. It presented a slightly better definition of author over the one given by Cutter.

It was an incomplete code without rules for description, subject cataloguing and filing, But it came into wide use in the libraries in both the countries including a few other nations where English was the library language.